Pacific Time

Has anyone noticed that the time stamp on blogger.com is Pacific Time. I am posting this at 8:58 AM, but the time stamp will read 5:58. No, I not that much of an over achiever!

Year Round School Coming in Increments

Getting out of school the first week of June and not returning until after Labor Day. That was the life. Riding our bikes to the park, going up the hill in Franke Park to see 6 or 8 animals that were native to NE Indiana in small cages on a path (Later to become the Children’s Zoo). Playing games, climbing trees, selling lemonade on Sherman Street with neighborhood friends so we could all walk to the Dairy Queen on Lima Road at the end of the week and eat lunch, those were the days. Summer vacation was a full three months long and could be because all of our mothers were home all day. They didn’t work outside of the home.

But this is a different era. The reality is that most mothers do work outside of the home. Summer child care is a problem. Many children spend the summer in the care of older siblings, some as young as 10-12 years old. Others are shipped off to relatives. And some, sadly, are simply left to fend for themselves. This happens even more in urban school districts like FWCS.

Laws mandating year round school may never pass, but it seems that we are getting it in increments. Summer vacation still starts the first week of June, but it ends in the middle of August. Indiana State law mandates 180 instructional days per school year. Snow days have to be made up, extending the school year. IEP’s for special education students in FWCS now ask, is extended school year recommended. There are remedial programs that begin in June to reinforce what the students have learned and others that begin in July to prepare students for the coming school year. With these programs, many students in the district now attend school year round. We may never have legislation mandating year round school, but I believe it is coming in increments.

33rd Anniversary

On Friday, July 25, 1975, Karen Gentis and I became Mr. & Mrs. Michael Failor. Yesterday morning we drove to Fort Wayne from the lake and I dropped her off at the day spa where she enjoyed a day of pampering compliments of a friend. I went home where I mowed the lawn and brushed the cat. Back at the lake, I picked up my daughter, Abbey, and her friend, Joanne, and drove them back to Fort Wayne and dropped them off at Jefferson Pointe to shop and eat. I picked Karen up and took her to Biaggi's for dinner. We met up with the girls and drove to Auburn to see Journey to the Center of the Earth. The story was fine, but the 3D special effects were incredible! We then drove back to the lake.

Our hostess at Biaggi's asked us the secret to our long marriage. Karen said, first of all we both love Jesus. He makes all of the difference. I said that is true. But there has to be more than that, because church folks get divorced as much as non-church folks. You still have work at your marriage to make it work. Karen was when I married her and is now, my best friend. I would rather do things with her than anyone I know. In all of these years we've never allowed ourselves to even think, let alone say, the "D" word (divorce). Karen added that if you think about it you will talk about. If you talk about it you will do it. But the real truth is that we had an agreement, whoever left had to take the kids! :-)

Seriously though, when I asked Karen to marry me, I thought I knew what love was. 33 years later I know that love is so much more than I had thought. Love is commitment. It is putting someone else's needs before your own. Love is believing that your happiness depends on someone else's happiness. The love that I thought I had for Karen when I proposed on Feb. 9, 1975 pales in comparison to the love that I have for her 33 years later. It feels like we've always been married and it feels like we just got married yesterday at the same time.

My parents were married 59 years when my dad died. I pray Karen and I live long enough to match or surpass that record.

Door to door salesman at the lake?

Have you noticed that door to door sales have dramatically increased since the no call list went into effect? Well Friday afternoon while we are on vacation at the lake, there came a knock at the door. When I opened the door there was a salesman at the door. It was a young Amish man selling produce from his horse drawn buggy. That's the first time I've ever had an Amish door to door salesman call.

Vacation

I'm enjoying a week at the lake with my wife, kids, and in laws. I'm also writing a research paper for SPED 551, so I needed Internet access. There is a phone so we opted for Juno Speed Band. Its tolerable, but when we're used to FIOS 20/20 at home, its painfully slow. Since I was already online to research, I figured I might as well blog too.

I hope everyone is enjoying this warm summer weather.

Earning the Right to Speak

When I weighed 398 lbs. strangers and casual acquaintances would occasionally offer unsolicited advice on weight loss. I would simply say, thank you, and quietly withdraw from their company. They did not know me well. They did not know why I was overweight. They did not know how many ways I had tried to lose weight or how I had yo yo dieted from 276 lbs. to 398 lbs. over the previous 30 years. They simply had not earned the right, through relationship, to speak into my life.

Only when we have taken the time to get to know someone over an extended period of time do we earn the right to speak, uninvited, into their lives. We must wallow through the shallow in order to get to the deep. We must make small talk in order to get to the bigger issues. We may not get to influence, or more likely control, as many people; but those whom we do influence may be more appreciative.

Truth from Kung Fu Panda

My son, Adam, took me to see Kung Fu Panda as soon as it came out. There was a great line in the movie when Oogway, the sage, was talking to Master Shifu. Shifu was frustrated about having to train Po, the panda. He didn't think it was possible for Po to become a Kung Fu Master let alone become the one who would save the valley. Oogway looked at Shifu and said, "You must let go of the illusion of control."

Let me try to remove this from it Zen concepts. I am not a fatalist who believes that everything is fated and we have no choice. There are things, however, that are beyond our control. Oogway tells Shifu the he cannot tell the peach tree when to lose its petals. Shifu responds by hitting the tree and causing some peaches to drop, stating that he can tell it when to drop its peaches. He then pokes holes in the ground and plants the pits, stating that he can tell it where to plant its seeds.

Oogway says, yes but when it grows it will be a peach tree. You may desire an apple tree, but it will be a peach tree. He then states, you cannot change the nature of a thing.

When we try to control others, we deceive ourselves. We cannot change people's natures. We may insulate ourselves from others in an attempt to control our environment, but we have not exercised control. We have simply isolated ourselves and called it insulation.

When we let go of the illusion of control, we set ourselves free. Free to allow others to be themselves. Free to interact naturally instead of manipulating. Free to be out from under the control of others. Above all, free from the need to control.

More on Software Wars

I downloaded iTunes on my wife's hp notebook while mine was in the shop. All of its processes are now running at less than half of their previous speeds. This happened to her notebook before. As soon as she removed iTunes, the problem went away.

I cannot post comments on other blogs using IE7 since downloading iTunes. I cannot see the letters that need to be typed into the box. I have to use Firefox instead.

As soon as EDU 505 is over, I'm removing iTunes from all of my computers!

Mumble, grumble, complain.

Software Wars

As much as I loved mac in the days of Windows 3.1, it was much more user friendly, I have now lived in a PC environment for over 15 years. While my HP is in the shop, I am using a four year old Toshiba laptop with XP. I obediently downloaded iTunes so I could use iTunes U. and take EDU 505 at the University of Saint Francis. A few days later, Apple had an update for my software. I downloaded and my IE-7 promptly stopped working. It thinks I am off line and will not connect to the Internet. Thankfully, I already had Firefox on my computer.

The Microsoft, Adobe wars are even more frustrating. Microsoft has introduced its own pdf format that is infinitely inferior to Adobe, but that they want PC users to use. Now we have a seemingly unending stream of competing updates from Microsoft and Adobe. Oy Vey!

Technology and Online Learning

I love technology and could play with it all day. At first I studiously avoided technology. Computers were for the young. I was 33 years old and pastoring my first church. Servicing the church's laser copier was enough for me. Computers were for the young. I would stick to my electric typewriter. I produced a weekly newsletter by typing it and then physically cutting and pasting it. To add pictures, I used half-toning screen. (Let's see if anyone is old enough to remember that technology)

My first experience with computing was in 1991 with an electronic typewriter that had memory. I could actually type an entire letter, proof it, and then have the typewriter type it! It could store multiple letters so I could actually save form letters. I was amazed.

In 1992 I joined the staff of a large church. They used computers and I had to learn. I asked another associate pastor to teach me. He gave me a cassette tape to go with the PageMaker tutorial. I fired up the Mac Plus, with it's powerful 20 MB hard drive, and began to learn how to click and drag. Thus I came, kicking and screaming into the computer age. It wasn't long before I added a 40 MB external hard drive and I was off and running as a techie, teaching new comering staff members how to use the mac.

As much as I am now a lover of technology, I am also a face to face person. If Education 505 has taught me anything, it is that I prefer my give and take in real time in the real world. In the future, I will attempt to leave cyber learning to others.

My old fat picture

This is not a sales pitch, just my story. Maybe it can inspire someone to do something they thought they couldn't do.

Mike

"If I were to describe OPTIFAST in one word it would be 'life changing'. I weighed 398 pounds - My wife sat me down one day and said - I want my husband back. The kids are no longer going to get up and get things for you, you're going to get up and get them for yourself.
I began looking into different weight loss options. I had researched surgery, but there were complications that I didn't want to worry about. A friend had successfully lost weight on the OPTIFAST program and I found out my insurance covered part of the cost. I signed up and learned that if you stick to the program, it's easy. I lost 77 pounds in the first 11 weeks.
The thing that made the difference with OPTIFAST was the support I received from the program. The groups that we would go to every week with behaviorists, nutritionists and the ongoing support for maintenance afterwards helped me to learn how to make lifestyle changes so that I can keep the weight off for life. I also appreciated the medical monitoring because it assured a healthy weight loss. I have lost 199 lbs and I am still counting. I no longer eat like I used to eat. I don't crave the foods I used to crave.
OPTIFAST has changed my life by transforming me from a man who sat in a chair and did nothing to a man who loves to be up and be active. Now I shovel the snow and I like to walk, I can't sit still! Now I do things just because I can and it is fun to be able to be physically active. It's a whole new way of life!
My advice for people who have given up and said: "There's no hope for me. I'm going to be this big the rest of my life" - I would say you can change. You have to first change your mindset. Change your attitude and the program will work for you. They will help you through every step of the way and you will find that there's a life to live on the other side."

Today has been spent updating an older Windows XP machine. It is going to a new home as soon as I get finished. I'm typing this on an old Windows XP laptop becaue my Vista notebook is in the shop. To see why click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qjpcjTuq8k

Outakes #3

Can I create a bloggerl.com account if my email addresses don't match?

ifoundbob@mac.com and ifoundbob@mac.clm

My First Post

After being made to feel stupid because the iTunes U. link on blackboard only brought up the words, "Enjoy your visit to iTunes U." I discovered that I must download iTunes first. It might be better if it said, "Don't forget to download iTunes first."